Teddy Bear Tears
by QTR
Summary: A little girl's life turns upside down when her father is brutally murdered. New evidence later suggests the little girl did it...but Sara thinks otherwise. Not continuing off of any other fanfics. Finished.
1. Tiny Killer

Blood painted the earthy-toned walls of the house a dark red. A single body lay secluded in a single area of the house, brutally murdered. A little girl's screams were heard, echoing throughout the house. The man on the floor, appeared awake- his eyes were still open. Staring into the eyes of a dead man…now that's something.

The people living next door awoke in terror at the little girl's screams. They quickly picked up their phones and dialed 9-1-1. They turned on their lights and in seconds saw through the open windows of the house the red walls. Copper was fuming through the windows into the fresh night air. They quickly closed their windows, feeling sick.

"Okay, what'd we got this time?" Grissom asked Captain Jim Brass as he ducked under some yellow crime-scene tape. "Well, a little girl and her father lived here; girl's eight-years-old. "She says she woke up in the middle of the night- heard footsteps. She says she opened her door and saw someone inside the house, going into her father's bedroom. She heard her father yell, and then she didn't hear anything. When she ran out of her room to see what had happened, the killer had already left, and her father was on the floor surrounded by a pool of blood," Brass said, fixing his shirt cuffs.

"Bad night for that poor little girl," Grissom said stepping inside the house. "Yeah, tell me about it," came a voice from inside. Grissom looked ahead of him to see…whom other than his brown-haired coworker, already at the scene, doing a walk-through. "Sara, what are you doing here?" he asked giving her a look. "Police scanner," was all she said, not even looking up. "…Right," he said walking over to the pool of blood. "Well…it looks as though this is the point of origin for the whole attack," he said shining his flashlight in front of him. He saw a hair in the pool of blood and took his tweezers, carefully taking the hair from the pool.

"I've got a hair in the blood…" he said putting it in a plastic baggie. "Huh…could be from the killer," Sara said, looking up. She walked over to him. "…Footprint," she said kneeling down to examine a tiny footprint in the blood. "Ah, good eyes," Grissom said, just now noticing it. "I'm getting old," he joked as she smiled and lifted the print. "Looks to be about a size…four?" she said looking at it in the light. "Not many people I know where a size four," Grissom said looking at Sara. "But that's just me," he added. "Could be from the little girl, when she checked on her father," she said standing up.

It was morning. Catherine and Warrick headed towards the scene. "Hey, Cath," Warrick said stepping out of his Tahoe. "Hey," Catherine said tiredly. "Rough night?" he asked walking over to her. "Ugh…don't get me started…my mother called, and Lindsey couldn't sleep…it was just…agh…" she didn't finish. "Sorry," Warrick said looking at her. "I've had a few tough nights myself," he said walking into the house. "Hey," both Catherine and Warrick said, one looking at Sara and the other looking at Grissom. "Where've you guys been? I called you an hour ago," he said standing up.

"Well, for one I had to take Lindsey to school this morning…she was late," Catherine said sighing and looking at the pool of blood. "Yikes," she said shaking her head as she stared at it. "And…?" Grissom said looking at Warrick. "…Stopped for coffee," he said holding up a large, now empty cup of coffee. "Okay, whatever, let's finish processing the scene," Grissom said. "Catherine, I need you in the little girl's room. "Warrick, check the perimeter. Sara, come with me," he said looking at Sara. They all separated. Sara looked at Grissom, hopeful.

"I need you to take the little girl with you to-" he couldn't finish. "What?" Sara said, her jaw dropping slightly. "I-I don't believe this, Grissom!" she said sighing, not believing what was happening. "I've already done this on a case!" she exclaimed. "Have Catherine do it," she said. "Look, I need you to do this," he said looking at her. "Please?" he asked smiling a little. Sara gave him a look before walking off unhappily. He smiled as he watched her go.

"Hey, where's Sara?" Warrick said looking at Grissom as he walked outside. "She's taking the kid to the hospital to check her up," Grissom said walking over to him. "Heh…Sara with kids?" Warrick chuckled a little. "I think it'd be a good experience for her," Grissom said, keeping a straight face. Warrick's smile disappeared, as he noticed Grissom wasn't joking. "Well, I found no shoeprints outside the house," Warrick said showing him. "No tire treads, no trash or fibers, nothing." "Hopefully…we'll find something else in the house," Grissom said looking at Warrick.

"Hi," Sara said awkwardly as she looked at the little girl. The girl was tiny. She had a gentle face, small hands and feet. Her big brown eyes stared up at Sara through her short brown hair. "My name's Sara, what's yours?" she asked sitting down in the police car next to her. The little girl was hesitant. "Carrie," she mumbled a little looking at the ground in front of her. "Carrie?" Sara repeated. "That's a nice name," she said, not knowing what else to say. The little girl looked sad…no, worse than sad. Sara had seen this expression before, but not this way before in little kids. "Listen Carrie…I'm going to take you to the hospital. Their just going to check on you, see if you are okay, okay?" Sara said looking at her. She nodded and Sara led her to her car.

"Grissom!" Catherine yelled from upstairs in the house. Grissom ran upstairs. "I think I found the murder weapon," she said, holding a sharp piece of wood by the tip in her gloved hand. "In the little girl's room?" he said raising a brow. "Yeah," she said bagging it. "We'll send it in, get it printed," she said setting it aside. Grissom thought a minute before turning and walking out.

At the hospital, Sara sat outside a room with her head in her hands. When one of the doors opened, she saw Carrie walking out with a doctor following behind her. Carrie walked and stood next to Sara. "She checks out perfectly," the doctor said looking up at Sara. "No scratches, no bruises," he said smiling. "Thank you," Sara said to the doctor and he walked off. Sara headed out of the hospital. Her phone rang. "Sidle," she automatically said answering the phone.

"Sara, we found the murder weapon- jagged piece of wood found in the little girl's room. We got it printed. Bring the little girl in so we can see if her prints are a match," Grissom told her. "W-Wait a minute…you think she did it?" Sara said over the phone, now in complete shock. "It's a possibility," Grissom said simply. "O-Okay…" Sara said hanging her phone up. She kneeled down beside the little girl. "Now, I'm going to take you to the police station, and we're going to take a sample of your fingerprints," Sara told the little girl. "Do you know how we do that?" she asked her. Carrie shook her head. "Okay, it doesn't hurt. All we do…" she said holding the little girl's hand up. "Is dip your fingers in some ink," she said pretending to be actually doing it in thin-air. "And then we press them against some paper. Okay?" she said looking at Carrie. She shook her head.

Sara smiled at her. The girl still looked incredibly depressed. Sara sighed before looking into her eyes. "I'm really sorry about what happened to your dad," Sara told her. Carrie was now on the verge of tears. She looked up at Sara, as if to ask, "Is it okay if I cry?" Sara nodded. The little girl buried herself in a hug. Sara was a bit surprised at the motion. The little girl was crying her eyes out on Sara's shoulder. "It's okay," Sara said rubbing her back, trying to comfort her. "It's okay…" she said again, tears now forming in her own eyes.

TBC… 


	2. Truth

Sara was walking through the lab looking through some files. Grissom caught up with her and walked beside her. "We compared the little girl's fingerprints," he said looking at her. "And…?" she said, not really wanting the answer but at the same time dying to know. He sighed and then stopped. Sara stopped, staring at him. "They were a match," he said. "What?" she said blinking a few times. "You can't be serious. T-That little girl?" she said in disbelief. "There is only one little girl in the case we're working," he said turning and walking away.

"W-Wait, Grissom!" she said calling back to him. He turned to face her. "H-…H-How am I supposed to ask her about this?" she said with difficulty. He smiled a little. "You think of something," he said and walked off. Sara put a hand to her head as she walked into the locker room and sat on the small bench separating the lockers. She sighed as she lowered her head. This little girl, Carrie- she was so sweet, and she seemed so harmless. How could this little girl have done such a terrible thing?

Sara walked out. Brass was walking down the halls of the lab. "Brass?" Sara said blinking. "What are you doing here?" "Ah, I just stopped by to tell Grissom the little girl's going to be questioned in an hour," he said stopping and putting his phone away. "Um…let me come with you," she said looking at him. Brass was a bit surprised. "Uh…okay, yeah sure. Whatever," he said walking off. Sara grabbed her jacket and walked out of the lab.

"So, Carrie…do you remember when we took the sample of your fingerprints?" Sara asked the little girl nervously across the table. The little girl nodded. "Well…we found the weapon that was used to kill your father…and…we tested to see if your fingerprints matched the ones we found on it," she continued. "And…they did," she said looking the little girl in the eyes. The little girl was close to tears. "Am I in trouble?" she whispered, her lower lip quivering. "C-Carrie, can you just tell me what happened?" Sara asked looking at her. "No!" the little girl screamed hiding her head in her arms. "Carrie…" Sara started. "NO! He'll get mad!" she cried. "Who?" Sara said moving a little closer to her. "Daddy!" she said crying even more.

"…Carrie, why would your dad get mad at you?" Sara said, even though the father was dead. "Because he told me...if I ever told anyone about what happened…that he would hurt me," she said looking up at her in tears. Sara was a bit shocked. "H-Hurt you?" Sara said stuttering a bit. "W-What do you-…how-" she didn't finish. By now, she had tears forming in her eyes and she couldn't hold them back. She wiped them away from her eyes as best she could. "Carrie, your dad can't hurt you anymore," Sara said putting an arm on her shoulder. "So, please…please tell me what happened," she said looking at her little face. "I promise no one will hurt you," she said smiling.

Carrie wiped the tears from her eyes. "My daddy got really mad at me after mommy died," she said shaking. "He used to hit me," she said continuing on. "And…I didn't want him to hurt me anymore!" she said breaking down into more tears. "C-Carrie…so…you killed him?" Sara said looking at her. She nodded. "I loved my daddy!" she said crying. "But I didn't want him to hurt me! He was always mad at me!" she said crying. "Carrie…" Sara said moving over to her, trying to comfort her. "NO!" she screamed and backhanded Sara, slapping her face and leaving the skin red. "…Carrie," she said again. "NO!" the little girl screamed hitting her again. Sara didn't care. "Carrie, please," she said putting a hand on her shoulder. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed hitting her one final time, this time digging her fingernails into the skin on her face. Carrie looked up. Sara didn't have an angry expression on her face, which surprised her.

"Officer," Brass said. The officer standing in back of the little girl grabbed her arm and the little girl fought back. "I'M NOT GOING!" she screamed. "I'M NOT GOING!" she kept screaming, hitting the officer over and over again. The officer took out his handcuffs and was about to cuff the one hand on the girl when she buried herself in another hug with Sara. She was crying hysterically. "Carrie…" Sara said rubbing the girl's back. "It's going to be alright," she told the little girl. "I promise you," she said pulling the little girl back and Carrie looked at her and then walked over to the officer. The officer cuffed his own hand and one of the hands of the little girl and walked out. The entire time she was escorted out, she stared back at Sara.

Sara sighed as she stepped inside the lab later in the day. "What happened to your face?" Catherine asked Sara as she walked into the break room to find Sara sitting on a couch with a gash under her right eye. "I…ran into a door," Sara said looking up at her. Catherine was obviously not buying it. She sat down next to her. "We all know that line doesn't work," Catherine laughed. "Was it the little girl?" she asked on a more serious note, sipping a cup of water. Sara didn't say anything. Catherine knew it was. She looked at her and smiled. "Hey, it's okay to admit that you cared for a little kid," Catherine said.

"Heh," Sara laughed a little. "Just…you know, I…I kinda saw myself in that kid, y'know?" she said looking at Catherine. Catherine just nodded. She had no idea about Sara's past, but she wasn't about to ask her about it either. "And…that little girl…there was something special about her…" Sara said looking at the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm not making any sense," she said sniffling, holding back tears. "Hey, who's got the kids here?" Catherine said smiling. "Believe me, I know _exactly_ how you feel," she said taking another sip of her water. Sara laughed a little before drying her eyes. "Thanks, Catherine," she said standing up and walking out. Catherine watched her go and smiled to herself as she took another sip.

**TBC…**


	3. Teddy Bear Tears

"Grissom, is she…is the little girl going to be charged with anything?" Sara asked her boss who was sitting across from her in his office. He sighed taking off his glasses. "No," he said looking at her. Sara sighed with relief. "But…it's going to be an uphill struggle for that little girl," he said. Sara just nodded and sighed again. "She's being taken into family services later today," Grissom said looking at her. "…Thanks," Sara said getting up. She walked further through the lab. "Wait, where're you going?" Grissom asked her getting up. "I-I was going to start my shift," she said blinking. "You have the day off," Grissom told her. "Go do something not work-related," he told her smiling a little. She smiled as she nodded. "Alright," she said walking out of the lab.

Sara walked into the police department. The first thing she saw was the little girl sitting on a bench near a door. The girl suddenly perked up when she saw Sara walk through the door. "Sara!" she said smiling and running over to her. "Hey Carrie," Sara said smiling as the little girl ran over to her. "Uh, how about we go do something?" she told the little girl. "Okay!" the girl said with the biggest smile she could muster. They walked out of the station. Brass saw what she was doing and was confused, but he quickly remembered Grissom telling him about this.

Carrie was having a great time with Sara. She told her about everything- about her pet cat, her school, everything. Sara was happy that the girl was in such a great mood, but she knew she'd have to break it to the little girl that she'd be taken into family services. "Listen, Carrie," Sara said in a serious tone. "Later today…you're going to be taken into Family Services," she told the little girl. "Family…Services?" Carrie repeated. "Yes," she said looking at her. "And…you're going to be living with another family for a while," she told her.

"Strangers?" the little girl asked. "…Why?" she said looking at Sara. "Well…we can't just leave you at the station," Sara said. "And…it's going to be hard," she said. "But…I just want you to remember, that…things will get better," she told the girl, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. Carrie didn't say a word; she was more than a little shocked at the news. She walked out of the building and into Sara's car, just sitting. Sara sighed as she walked out and got into the car.

As the evening neared, the little girl went to family services. Sara wasn't feeling satisfied with herself. Carrie looked…shocked, but she thought the encouragement she gave the girl would've helped. She drove over to her apartment and got out of her car. She walked into her apartment, closing the door. She set her keys on the counter in front of her before putting her bag down and leaning on the counter. She held her head in her hands. She just wanted to make the transaction for the little girl less painful for her than it was for herself.

She collapsed on the sofa in her house. She hadn't slept for days. She fell asleep quickly, but her cell phone soon interrupted her. She picked it up, rubbing her head. "Sidle," she said sleepily. "W-What? A-…A-Are you sure?" she said a bit shocked to the person on the other line. "Yeah, I-I'll be there in a minute," she said grabbing her keys and hanging up the phone. She ran into her car and drove off.  
When she approached her destination, she ran out of her car. "This was the last place they saw Carrie," she said looking around. Carrie had run away from her foster parent's home. "Carrie?" she said looking around. "Carrie?" she said again. She saw a figure in the distance. "Carrie?" she said running over to the figure. The person fell onto Sara. They were covered in blood. "Carrie!" she said now noticing that the figure was in fact the little girl. She had a knife stuck in her stomach. "Oh my god…" she said looking at the little girl's eyes. She was dead.

Grissom had arrived soon after. Sara was silent, but had tears running down her face. Grissom walked over to her. "Sara…" "I…promised her no one would hurt her," she said, her voice breaking. "I promised her!" she said breaking down into more tears. Grissom put a hand on her shoulder. She buried herself in his arms. "I'm sorry, Sara," he told her, trying to comfort her.

The autopsy and further investigation later revealed that the little girl had committed suicide. Sara was having trouble getting over it. "I…It was hard for me too," she said at this time to the grave in front of her. "But…I didn't want you to give up," she said with a tear in her eye. "…I thought my words would help," she said, the tears running down her face. "But…I never thought they would make you do something like this," she said. A tear ran down her face hitting the grave. Sara noticed something on the grave. It was a teddy bear. On it, there was a teardrop, made by a blue marker. "Teddy Bear Tears," Sara said looking at the bear. 'Teddy Bear Tears' was what Carrie had used to describe her life.

THE END


End file.
